


The Abyssal Void Isn't Lonely Afterall

by MfArtCat



Series: Abyss Au [1]
Category: HLVR AI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware, Half-Life
Genre: Blood, Deep Sea, Dragons, G/T, Giant/Tiny, M/M, Multi, OC death, PTSD, Romance, Trans Gordon, also possibly vore, and gays, and sex, because reasons, maybe fear play, mermaid au, siren au, so many gays, tbd, thalassophobia, that look like snakes, there will be blood - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:20:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25258339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MfArtCat/pseuds/MfArtCat
Summary: Gordon left his cushy job on the surface to self isolate at the bottom of the ocean, hoping to get away from the pains of the world above. Little did he know there's no escape, not even down here...He'll have to make friends and honestly, that might be even scarier than the Dragon.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Tommy Coolatta/Darnold
Series: Abyss Au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967689
Comments: 24
Kudos: 196





	1. Fairy Lights

**Author's Note:**

> This is yet another attempt at a multi chapter fic. Please be gentle with me UwU

It’s way too quiet down here in the depths of the ocean where no light shines from above, only the sounds of distant metal or glass creaking and the occasional thump of blind fish knocking into the one man base breaks the maddening silence. Well, I say one man because for now there is only one, usually there’s more inhabiting this old place but…

Not anymore.

Now it’s only up to one man to keep this place and its many machines and data harvesters and self contained gardens running. It’s honestly a lot for one person, but it keeps Gordon busy. 

Yes, the once renowned theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman has been dispatched to this underwater hell as a sort of… mandatory vacation. One that could last months to years. Why? Well. That's a story for another day. All one really needs to know is that he chose to come here to get away from the world above.

He finds the darkness and the silence peaceful, calming, as long as he stays inside that is. The very few times in the past two weeks he’s had to step outside into the crushing depths to repair the base, or any ships he had on hand, had the hair on the back of his neck on end and a heart pounding fear swell in his chest until he was safely back inside. It almost feels as if he’s being watched… he can’t quite place why, though.

Somehow that feeling doesn’t follow him inside, however, even when he sits in the observation deck with the lights down low to observe the tiny glowing critters floating in the water. The deck is just a cylindrical room overlooking a valley of sand below made entirely out of a crystal clear metal and specially designed glass that allows him to see from every angle around him. If he lays on his back during one of those days where he just can’t seem to get to sleep he can get lost in thought and imagine himself outside without the crushing weight of the water or the fear of the unknown.

More often than not he finds himself falling asleep out here so he’s given in and dragged his mattress in to sleep when he does so he doesn’t wake with a sore back. Sometimes he wakes up to see deep sea fish laying on the metalglass or glowing siphonophores lazily wrapped around the deck, attracted to the tiny lights inside and the warmth. Those are the best ways to wake up, in all honesty, especially with the latter. The soft glow dancing on his tired face enticing him to flutter his eyes open and stare up at the blurry lights, causing a soft smile to pull at his lips as he watches them blink and sway in the darkness like rainbows of tiny fairy lights… Absolutely Magical.

Today is one such day and Gordon is more than happy to spend a little more time in bed just watching them with blurry eyes. Ah, he sits up with a sad sigh as the lights seem to slither away rather abruptly. Something probably caused it to leave. Another creature using it as a meal or the ocean current washing it away. Oh well, as sad as it is to see it go, he can’t do much about it. Nature takes its own course. 

A bleary glance to his watch tells him he has maybe an hour before he has to do his daily checks and maintenance around the base. So, with a loud groan as he stretches and stands up, he grabs his glasses and heads back into the main base to get himself cleaned up and his daily dose of caffeine in him.

-

It’s not long before he’s back to the grind, humming to himself along to his mp3 player as he adjust the settings in the engine room, calibrates a few things in the scanner room, writes down anything new found on the recordings in the unnamed room full on visual monitors, and finally gets around to fixing that damn leak in the kitchen. All of the above taking him only about five hours total now that he’s gotten used to the rhythm of things down here. So with that being said and done, Gordon kinda just meanders around a bit and does a bit of cleaning before returning to the observation deck to sit on his bed and write or doodle a bit in his sketchbook for a while before he has to check on everything again and tend to the greenroom that grows his edible plants.

Just his luck, about an hour into his down time, those soft lights are back, creating a calming ambiance in the dim room. He finishes his thought on paper before looking up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the creature they belong to… He tilts his head and raises a brow as he's greeted with a rather unusual sight. It’s not the usual glowing fish or siphonophore he's used to, instead it’s something that looks like the tail of a giant eel or sea snake or something along those lines. A thick cylindrical body with wavy, jagged fins with spines that sway like the siphonophores tendrils. The lights come from spots along what he assumes is the creature’s sides and the tips of its spines.

Gordon sits up a little more and adjusts his glasses, twisting around as he leans back to maybe see if he can see the start or end of this creature, but to no avail. That is a rather terrifying realization. That means this thing is well over 50 or 60 feet in length and honestly anything that big down here… well, the thought of it sends a cold shiver up his spine. But, Gordon is a scientist and his mama didn’t raise no pussy, so he slowly gets to his feet and walks along the base, going from room to room, down each and every hallway, peeking out of every window to see where the head of this thing could be.

Annoyingly, he can’t seem to find it, just more tail here and there flashing past a few small windows. Eventually he gives up when he sees the serpent’s tail slither past a porthole, a little sad to think it might be leaving before he can catch a glimpse of it properly. Just then the most terrifying sound he's ever heard echoes through the entire base, screeching metal loud enough to force Gordon to cover his ears and curl up until it's over. Thirty long seconds of it has him in tears out of physical pain and unbridled fear.

_ Is the base damaged?!  _

_ Is it going to flood?! _

_ If the hull’s integrity is damaged then the whole base can and will crumple like a tin can!! _

Gordon scrambles to his feet and races towards the HQ, frenzied eyes flicking from screen to screen to check for any damage to the base. He damn near crumples with relief and lets out a loud sigh once he realizes nothing seems to be broken. Just some surface damage a little welding can fix… Ah, but that means having to go outside again..

That relieved smile quickly turns into an annoyed frown at the realization. He lets out a loud groan and reluctantly gets to his feet. “Fucking fine, FINE! I’ll put on the shitty diving suit and go out into the fucking water and-” This goes on as he trudges across the base once again to the moon pool where the diving gear, repair tools, and subs are docked. 

He continues to grumble as he puts on the suit, as he grabs his tools, as he puts on his helmet and jumps into the black water. To any creature within earshot it’s just muffled incoherent noises from here on as he swims around to where the display showed there to be damage. Eyup! Four foot long three inch deep scratches along the hull are as clear as day, luckily it's only leaking air. In very thin streams. All good, all good, he nods before taking out a bit of scrap metal and his high tech underwater torch and getting to work patching it up.

Occasionally gordon would see something out of the corner of his eye, but it's gone as soon as he pauses to look. If it was even there to begin with. They say isolation makes you go crazy… but he didn’t think it would happen so soon. Then again, he's a physicist not a… a brain doctor. Would this fall under psychology? Would a psychologist diagnose someone as crazy? He’s been to one often enough in the past, you’d think he'd remember by now.

He’s twitchy now, looking over his shoulder and stopping every few minutes to try and listen. For what, he doesn’t really know. But now this thirty minute task is pushing an hour and he's going to run out of oxygen soon if he doesn’t hurry the fuck up.

Finally, fucking  _ finally _ , he can pack up his welding tool and head back inside. The patch job ain't pretty but it’ll hold! And that's good enough to a man half scared out of his damn mind. The fear pushes him to swim faster toward the moon pool but relief as it comes into view has him slowing, just enough for something to wrap around his leg. Gordon doesn’t feel it through the suit at first, but just when his hand is mere inches away from breaching the surface that grip on his leg turns painful and yanks him out into the inky water, a strangled yelp rattling his helmet as the base becomes a tiny dot of light in the distance. 


	2. Stranger In The Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon wishes he could rub his eyes or pinch his arm, something to tell if what he’s seeing is real or not. Maybe wake up from this... nightmare? Would he call it that? Obviously he’s terrified out of his damn mind he might die, but he has to admit that whatever he’s looking at… isn’t horrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ssssoooorrryyyy this took so long I suck ass at writing so it takes me forever!!

Gordon couldn’t tell if he stayed conscious or blacked out from fear, darkness seemed to consume him as whatever grabbed him pulled him farther into the depths and away from the false safety of his underwater home. He guesses he might have closed his eyes at some point because they shoot open when his back is slammed, somewhat gently but that could just be because of the thick protective suit, against a heat vent, the glow from the vent casting his assailant in an eerie glow.

Gordon wishes he could rub his eyes or pinch his arm, something to tell if what he’s seeing is real or not. Maybe wake up from this... nightmare? Would he call it that? Obviously he’s terrified out of his damn mind he might die, but he has to admit that whatever he’s looking at… isn’t horrifying.

Before him is what looks like a giant of a man, several times larger than any human with a scarred angular face, glowing yellow eyes that look both tired and curious visible under a curtain of thick black hair waving in the water, contained only by what looks like some bit of scrap metal cut and bent to cover his head like some form of helmet… sticking out from under the metal looks like some kind if bent spine that glows a faint blue at the tip. 

It took quite a bit of will to not jerk away as that giant face inches closer to Gordon, closer than he’s honestly comfortable with, giant sea monster or not. Their eyes narrow and a clawed, webbed hand comes up to tap a long nail against the tinted glass helmet of Gordon’s diving suit… Wait. One of four… Four hands? Gordon briefly stares at the creature with an unseen puzzled expression and a tilt of his head, regarding the appendages for a long moment before trying to catch a look at the rest of it, but his eyes snap back up as the giant moves him.

It tries lifting him up to the light of the vent, then shining their glow tipped spine at and around the helmet as they tilt Gordon from side to side like a doll. If he had to venture a guess, he’d think the beast is trying to see his face as if it knows there’s something covering it. 

_ What if it’s sentient and that’s exactly what it's doing? _

The thought crosses Gordon’s mind and he’d smack his face if he could.

It looks mostly human. Why should he assume it's not somewhere close to as intelligent?

“Damn why yo- why they gotta make it harder t’ see? Fuckin tinted glass down here, why th’ fuck…” Gordon jumps as the giant starts mumbling, at least it sounds like mumbling through the glass, and in fucking english no less. 

Well, that answers that debate of intelligence. 

Another lazy, now slightly annoyed tap on his helmet. “Helloooo? Anyone in there? Been kinda still. Us- usually you tiny f- bitches move a lot more… Hey, you still alive in there?” Que the raised brow and a gentle shake that sends Gordon’s head spinning.

That could just be the low oxygen, though. The little meter in his HUD did say he was getting low before he was grabbed.

But with the prompting from the giant, the scientist thinks it might be a good idea to start moving if for no other reason than to not be abandoned as a corpse or the suit cracked open for a meal. At least he hopes the beast has somewhat of a conscience and won’t eat him if he's proven himself to be alive. So, he wiggles and kicks his legs, almost slipping through their grasp before the giant tightens its grip.

Thin human-like lips pull back in a wicked smirk, revealing rows upon rows of serrated, dagger shaped teeth at least six inches in length. “Yooo! Thank fuck, man. Corpses aren’t as much fun to mess with.” It says in a louder voice that can be heard a bit clearer through the glass.

Gordon can’t help but let out a nervous laugh. “You sound like a fucking stoner.” He says under his breath, almost in disbelief. Not only does the giant mer-person exist in the first place, and not only can it speak english, he sounds like a goddamn monotone stoner and the realization itself mixed with the ever stuffy air in the suit makes him wheeze.

“Huh?” They perk a little and narrow their eyes again in visible confusion, staring intently at the glass. “You say sumthin?” 

Gordon takes a shaky, deep breath before shouting as loud as he can.

**_“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”_ **

Before going a bit limp. Wow, who knew it was so hard to keep yourself from panting when there's low oxygen? Or laughing. Doing either right now would be a bad idea.

The giant mer-person just blankly stares at the human a moment more, eyes trailing a few stray bubbles that leak from the helm.

“Wh- huh?”

“Jesus fucking christ…” Gordon mutters under his breath, trying to pry the giant’s hand off him. At least to free his own. Thank whatever gods above and below that the giant loosens his grip just enough so that he can flail his arms about.

“What? What are you- whatcha doin there, lil man?” The serpent raises a brow and smirks.

Gordon motions to his air tanks, the floating bubbles, then makes a motion like he’s choking.

“Playin charades? Uhhhh… you, uh, you want the suit off? That it? Bitty human wants to go for a proper dip?” He smirks evilly and lets out a laugh as Gordon shakes his head hard enough to actually move the helmet and waves his arms no.

“No you fucking idiot! I’m running out of air! Please don’t let me suffocate down here I’m fucking begging you!” Gordon pleads as he tries again and points to where he thinks the base is.

“You, uh… you wanna go home? That it? Miss your little, uh, little reverse fish tank? Little glass cage lookin shit.” He says it teasingly with a laugh, but then he pauses, looking up and away in thought for a moment before going, “huh. Ohhhh, right, you- you tiny fucks breathe air or some shit. Weak ass fuckin… Prob’ly shoulda grabbed ya when you first came out…” He hums softly, almost embarrassed he forgot, and turns around to lazily swim in the direction Gordon oh so hopes is the way back to his base.

He allows himself to go a little limp and smiles when he realizes that makes the serpent swim a bit faster. Words can not describe how relieved he is that worked. 

_

He must have zoned out again or passed out from low oxygen because Gordon is jerked into focus when the giant gently tosses him up into the moon pool like, For lack of a better descriptor, a doll. Gordon lands on the metal walkway with a grunt and slowly sits up, only to find himself face to face with the creature in the full light of the base. He scrambles back away from the giant face until he hits the wall and fumbles with his helmet before pulling it off, the latches make a loud hissing noise that makes the mer bristle but those bored eyes widen a little as Gordon unmasks himself with a rather, in the serpent’s eyes, dramatic hair flip.

_ What’s the fuckin deal with the bright ass glittering lights around the human? Is that normal?? _

The thoroughly wiped out human sighs heavily with a cough after taking a deep breath, clearing his lungs of the old air. He adjusts his glasses and looks up at the giant still there, still leaning against the side of the pool like he’s expecting something. 

“Y-you know there were a million and one different ways to say hello besides nearly scarring me half to death and suffocating me, right?” He laughs nervously, filling the awkward silence.

The giant glances away and huffs softly, shrugging their main set of shoulders. “Too lame to jus’ knock an’ say hello.” Plus, he prefers to meet face to face and just randomly popping in would scare the human off into the base where he can't get him without killing him. So, whatever.

Gordon however lets out a bark of disbelieving laughter. “Pfff haha! Just  _ had _ to be dramatic and terrifying, huh?” He rakes his gloved hand through his wild, curly hair, wincing as the metal snags a few strands. “Jesus fucking christ…” He mutters as he deflates a little, slowly working to unlatch his suit so he can move a bit more freely. Out of the water this thing weighs a ton and can be quite combersome.

Benrey just watches in silence as Gordon undresses, tilting his head ever so slightly as those small, slitted pupils dilate to take more of the action in. The false sense of safety the base gives the human allows him to take off the only bit of armor he really has, far too trusting in his home and the curious mer who could and may still grab him at any time. 

“So, do you have a name or am I going to have to keep calling you ‘the giant mer’ or ‘the serpent’ in my head?” Gordon asks as he puts the suit away in it’s charging station, the question making those round pupils contract to little slits again as the beasty shifts a little uncomfortably. 

“B- Benrey.”

Gordon pauses. “Benrey? Like… Henry? But with a B? Really?” 

“I guess. What of it?” He hufs, spines flaring defensively.

“Nothing, I guess I’m just surprised you have a human sounding name.” He shrugs. “Most people assume mythical ocean dwellers have weird sounding alien names or sea puns for names or something. Then again, Finn is a  _ normal  _ human name so I can’t  _ really  _ say anything…”

“Pfff-” Benrey smirks. “A human named Finn… sounds kinda cringe if ya ask me, bro.”

“I know, right? But whatever floats their boat.” Gordon laughs again with a roll of his eyes. 

“Soo… Your name Finn or some shit? You the cringe guy, huh?” Benrey asks in an almost teasing tone as he lays his head on his folded arms, tail gently wrapping around the base as they talk. 

“No, actually my name is Gordon. Gordon Freeman.”

That smirk falters a moment as Benrey tries to form a thought,maybe taking a few seconds too long to reply. “Pffff, Gordon Freeman more like, uh, Gordon  _ Feetman _ .” He snickers, clearly amusing himself if nothing else as he reaches out to carefully knock the human over. “Got a pair of, uhhhh, weirdo Gordo feets. ‘Stead of a tail.”

“Gah!” And back to the wall he scoots to get as far away from the pool as he possibly can, giving Benrey a halfhearted and wary glare. “Well… can’t say that isn’t a new one.” He sighs. “Please don’t  _ ever  _ call me that again. 

“Aww come on man, don’t ya know you gotta- you gotta give pets pet names or s’mthin’?” That smirk widens in an almost devilish way as Gordon's face turns red and he starts to sputter. He can’t tell if it's from embarrassment or anger or both but either way it's kinda cute to see the little guy get so worked up. He looks so frazzled and defensive now~

“ _ I _ am  _ NOT  _ a  _ PET _ !” 

“Then- then why are you in a reverssse fishbowl, huh? Cooped all up in a lil cage and shit.” 

Gordon takes a deep breath and holds it as he pinches his brow, sighing deeply. “Because humans breathe air, dumbass. Not water. So to be in an underwater terrain, I need a base with air in it. And its made of mostly glass so I can observe the flora and fauna and whatever else the fuck is down here! Which I guess now means you, too.”

“Dude… that-that's illegal. Watching people in their own homes without consent and shit…”

“Like you weren’t watching me for the past god knows how long before pulling that stupid fucking stunt outside.” 

“Hey!” Benrey puffs up a bit in a mock anger display. “It’s my job to watch people. Make sure they don’t- they don’t, uh, steal anything. Or hurt people.”

Gordon gives him an incredulous look as he crosses his arms. “What the fuck would I be able to steal?! I’m like a whole ass mile or so underwater and there is nothing down here but sand! And Isopods! I’m not going to steal a fucking isopod!”

“But you could though. So I gotta watch you. You could be dangerous.” He says in that matter of fact, monotone voice of his. It's almost impossible to figure out if he’s joking or not, he kinda sounds serious.

And that’s what worries Gordon.

“I have no clue how I could be dangerous, man. You’re the one that's like a hundred feet long with sharp teeth and claws. I’m still unsure if you plan on eating me or something.”

“Damn, bro. What kinda gentle-main do ya take me for? I don’t- on the first date, gotta- gotta like… hold hands or somethin first.”

Gordon stares at him a minute and slowly tilts his head, eyes narrowed. “What… what are you even talking about?” 

All he gets is a sly smile, one that grows wider as Gordon slowly lowers his head into his hands to let out a muffled groan.

“Don’t you fuck- What’s wrong with you?”

**“HA HA HAH HA HA!!!”**


	3. Not Dragon This Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so fuckkkking long, I'm worrying over it not being long enough or too fast or something idk but imma just say fuck it and post it!

The days following their not so nice introduction sure has been interesting, to say the least. Gordon has been having a hell of a time keeping to his work schedule while also entertaining his rather, well, they’ve moved on from terrifying to annoying, ‘guest’. Benrey is like a curious child or cat or  _ something _ along those lines, always watching Gordon through the glass as he works on the delicate machinery, always asking questions, making strange remarks, or messing with things in the moon pool. And Gordon can’t let his guard down or ignore Benrey when working in said moon pool because the giant noodly bastard gets huffy or worse, bored. 

Gordon fears for his safety, and occasionally Benrey’s, when the fucker gets bored and starts fucking around with things either in the bay or just outside to try and coax Gordon outside again. The latter sucks most of all because now he has a legitimate reason to stay out of the water. Who the fuck wants to be manhandled like a fucking doll? Not him! Not again! Minor surface damage be damned!

So, despite his introverted nature, and general dislike of most social interactions nowadays, the semi-retired scientist tries his damnedest to entertain this man-child of a serpent. At least it’s not all that difficult, seeing as how even though the bastard can speak perfect english (if they wanted to) they know little to nothing about, well, anything to do with humans outside of what you'd expect a mythical beast to know.

Today, for example, while Gordon is working on fine tuning one of the replicators embedded in the wall, he’s got one of his personal computers set up to play one of the many pre-downloaded movies he got his hands on before coming down to these inky black depths. Most of them Rom-coms, scifi, and children’s movies. When asked about it, Gordon sheepishly admitted to having a kid up top so most of his playlists were dedicated to entertaining the lad.

Benrey had even more questions now,  _ holy shit Gordon is a dilf _ , but they recognized the melancholy look on Gordon’s face and decided to put a pin in it for now. Instead, picking out a movie from the kid’s section to see if that would help lighten the mood. 

They didn’t expect to be so caught up in it. The moving pictures and visual stories are far more fascinating than they thought it would be! So that’s a good few hours of distraction gordon doesn't have to worry about.

Gordon does have to admit it’s kinda cute how Benrey’s eyes and pupils will widen and narrow along with what's going on, every now and then raising his spines or ducking below the lip of the pool when the story gets intense. They can be rather animated when they want to be, other times still as a statue until the scientist almost forgets they’re there.

A soft chittering sound always breaks the silence if it stretches for too long, almost as if to remind Gordon they’re still here. It’s an odd comfort.

“Enjoying the movie, bud?” Gordon asks after a long while, wiping the sweat off his brow before closing the panel he was working on.

Benrey perks, a pair of eyes darting over to Gordon before returning to the little screen, replying with only a little nod before setting their chin back on their folded arms. They must be really into it because they’re watching with a laser focus, refusing to look up again as Gordon moves from his station to sit by them. But that could be because the screen is so much smaller to the giant. 

Or because Benrey is trying desperately not to bring too much attention to their obvious crush.

Thank the gods Gordon is rather oblivious.

Though their gaze does slowly shift over to the human once Benrey feels him lean ever so slightly against their arm to watch the movie, too.

They can’t help it. The little guy is freaky with his two legs and shit but goddamn that sexy little face with his dumbass curly hair and cute tightly groomed beard and brilliant green eyes and hypnotic little laugh and sexy voice… It’s damn near impossible for them to keep their many eyes off him. 

They’re lucky their helmet and mass of inky black hair casts enough of a shadow over their face to hide their faint blush.

“Whatcha watchin’ today, huh?” Benrey’s eyes snap back to the screen and their lips press together in a tight even line. “How to Train Your Dragon? Nice.”

“‘S that what it’s called?” They murmur, voice soft because, uh, apparently humans have sensitive ears. Or at least Gordon does. They found that out the hard way the first time they met. Gordon would cover his ears and recoil in pain whenever Benrey got much above a whisper. To be fair, as a ‘male’ of their size and race their voice is and has to be pretty powerful. Gotta carry all that authority and shit. Can’t protect nobody if your voice can’t project for miles down here.

“Yeah. It’s one of my favorites, though the second one in the series is the best.” Gordon says with a fond smile. 

Benrey’s fins perk a little. “There's more?”

“Yeah, man. Three movies, a few shorts, and a couple tv series that connect the movies together.” He says with a grin, counting them off on his fingers before stretching and leaning more against his giant companion. Focusing more on the movie instead of any danger the serpent possesses. Maybe he’s just starting to become more trusting of the giant. Benrey sure hopes so. “If you’re up for it, we can marathon the movies today if you’d like. I’m pretty much done with work for now.”

“Niiiice. Fuck yeah bro, three for three!” Benrey smirks, blush returning in force as they timidly lift one of their free floating hands out of the water to cup around Gordon, almost worried he would change his mind if they didn’t. 

“Damnit Benrey!” He hisses, jumping under the strange, cold touch. “You’re getting my clothes all wet!” And yet all he does is shift a little closer to get more comfortable. Probably lying to himself justifying his lack of protest with it just being futile if he tried. While it is… just enjoy it you touch-starved idiot.

Benrey’s smirk deepens along with that hidden blush, pupils widening as they sorta just settle into their relaxed, semi awkward cuddle while watching the film.

“So… why’s the gup’s name Hiccup? Sounds fuckin lame as shit, bro…”

“Gup…? Pfff, it kinda is, not gonna lie.” Gordon snickers. “But, like, the writers are going off the old tradition of shepherds naming the runt of the flock Hiccup. Like, the little lamb is a tiny mistake or bump in god’s plan or something, a hiccup. The kid is named that because he was born a little premature so he's smaller and physically weaker than most if not all the kids his age. So, he’s a hiccup!”

“Huh. Weird.” They’re silent a long moment before speaking again, interrupting the heartfelt scene between the young boy and his future girlfriend as they ride the majestic sky cat. “The dragons in this look kinda shit.”

“Eh, they are kinda stylized, but this is a movie intended for kids. The animators can’t make the dragons too scary looking or anything. Nor too similar to other takes on dragons because that would be boring. But I think they did a pretty okay job with the designs, making them rather unique looking while giving them some life based on real animals and how they act. Toothless is kinda dog or cat-like, the- the, uh, fuck, the blue one- the Deadly Nadder? The one with the spikes was probably based off a bird-”

“Huh? A what…?”

“The Deadly Nadder. It looks and acts like a parrot of some kind. Maybe a cockatoo?”

“Man why are we talking about a dragon having two cocks? That’s gay as fuck.”

“Shut the fuck-…” he sighs and rubs his eyes under his glasses. “Sorry, I was rambling…” Gordon just realized Benrey probably didn't understand half of what he was going on about, and he was talking over the movie, which Benrey is still staring intently at. So they probably weren't listening anyway. The realization makes his face burn in shame, but he tries really hard to ignore the feeling and focus yet again on the screen.

Benrey makes a soft sound, a huff through their gills. They were sorta kinda sad Gordon shut himself up. They actually liked listening to the tiny shut-in ramble on about stuff even if they didn’t understand any of it. But they don't know how to tell him it’s okay, keep going. Maybe a subject change will get him talking again?

“Do dragons on the- on the up- the upside look like these?”

“What? The upside? No...? Dragons aren’t real… Not that we can prove anyway.” He slowly shakes his head. “But then again, you’re real, unless I’ve been having a real bad case of psychosis or something for the past week.”

“HAHAHA! Fuck yeah I’m real! And I’m a ffffuuuuu-ckin dragon, bro! Cooler than those- those lame ass sky lizards!” They cackle loudly as they point to the screen, causing Gordon to flinch as he looks up at Benrey with a tired, incredulous glare.

“Riiiiiight…” He drawls, rubbing his temple. “I thought you were, like, a giant merman or something. A siren or a leviathan maybe? Sea serpent? No, that's a type of dragon… huh.”

“I dunno man, maybe? We call ourselves dragons though.” Benrey shrugs, laying their head back down but keeping that amused smirk as they watch the screen, trying to avoid Gordon’s gaze. “Big fuckers do at least. Got some, some special size on us and powers and shit. Way cooler than the normal fish boys out here.” He hums a soft note along with the movie’s music, letting loose a few of his glowing blue and orange bubbles as if to make a point.

Gordon shifts, drawing Benrey’s attention without meaning to, shutting him right up as their eyes meet. That hidden, intense blush is back as he realizes their faces are much closer now, and Gordon has the cutest starry eyed expression right now. Hella excited looking and full of wonder behind those dorky thick plastic rimmed glasses.

“You’re really a dragon? A-and th… There are others like you out there? Are they nearby?”

“Y-yeah? And?” They look away, unable to meet that stare any longer. Benrey’s about to start spewing pink here in a sec though if Gordon keeps this up, damn. “Smaller ones are normal sirens and mer dudes and whatever, but... yeh.”

“Can- can you tell me anything about them? I, uh, I understand if you can’t. Secrecy and all that, haha…” Gordon sinks back down to the floor, rather embarrassed by his sudden outburst.

“Mmmm… Not much to tell. Got me an’ my uhhhhhh mentor? Another bigger dragon that’s older ‘n me. He’s got a son who’s rather small for his age, and he’s got a mate that’s hella fuckin shy. A couple of old ass gay dudes that are crazy as fuck… an’ a few others but they aren’t as active as those guys.” They shrug, tapping their claws on the metal floor.

Oh hey, who knew humans could make such high pitched noises? “Can… Can I meet them?! Please?” 

How can a grown ass man act in such a way that it makes a dragon wanna mentally key smash?!

“D-dunno. Up to them I guess? …I can ask.” Gordon makes the weirdest and the loudest fucking noise of excitement he’s ever heard, louder than the previous one. “Cringe bro, fuckin- fuckin shut up ‘n’ watch th’ movie.” They playfully knock Gordon over and pin him down with a hand until he can calm the fuck down.

–

Gordon did not shut up. At least not for a little while. It was his turn to annoy the shit out of the giant, asking and probing for answers about everything to do with mer life… about dragons and the others and life out here, all sorts of annoying crap. Questions Benrey mostly either couldn’t or wouldn’t answer, but Gordon seemed happy with about any and all information they could give. 

Eventually the fucker calmed his tits and they settled back into a more comfortable silence as they continued their movie marathon, Gordon getting up between movies at one point to get them some of his human food and drinks. Barely snacks to the giant but they didn’t complain, especially since the small size meant they could easily mess with the little human by licking him.

That always got the funniest reactions out of Gordon, starting with fear and ending with disgust and harmless punches to Benrey’s scaly arms.

The movies eventually do end and Gordon has to retreat back into the base where Benrey can’t go to do more human stuff. Probably to sleep because the dude always seems exhausted for some reason. 

After that Benrey slips out of the moon pool and detangles their long ass tail from the human’s home so they can go for a swim far away from here and clear their head, maybe release these weird pent up feelings they can’t properly identify in a song where no one will hear them. 

Well, they hoped no one would hear them. But as they started swimming through the forest of deep sea vents...

“White to- to Turquoise to a soft Pink hue, means I can’t stop thinking about you~!” An all too familiar voice chimes from the darkness. The lovely golden yellow and red form of a much smaller dragon slips into view as Benrey’s good friend Tommy swims over to join him. “Who- Hello, Benrey! Who are y-you thinking about?”

Benrey immediately cuts their song off and gives their friend a tight lipped smile, waving away the fading orbs of light. “Sup, Tommy?” 

“Did you- did you find a special somebody, Benrey?” Tommy doesn’t let up, an excited, almost teasing grin plastered on his face.

“No, shut up. I’m thinking about… shrimp…”

“Shrimp? But why, Benrey, aren’t they to-too small for you?”

“They’re like- they’re the shit bro, mini m&ms, a cool snack.”

“I didn’t see any- any t-teal in that song.” He both sounds and looks incredibly smug, gently nudging the much larger sea dragon as he swims over beside them. “Come on, B-Benrey! Who are you thinking about?”

“Mmmm…” They glare at a distant vent, blowing a stream of normal bubbles from his mouth. “...A cringe f’kn’ nerd…” they mutter.

“That’s- that’s not a name, Benrey!” Tommy pouts as he wraps his long tail around his friend’s torso to stop them from swimming away too fast like they usually tend to do when interrogated about stuff. “If it’s- if it’s someone new we g-gotta let the school know!”

Benrey stops swimming and lets out a few deep blue bubbles of frustration, allowing themself to slowly sink down to the sandy sea floor and curl up around a warm vent. “G- Gordos… Gordon F-freeman…” Wow he’d been teasingly calling him Feetman since they met he damn near fucked up and called him that now. Probably shouldn’t fuck up the name of the guy you’re smitten with when talking about them for the first time to someone. Might give them the wrong impression. 

“Gordon… Freeman?” Tommy repeats very slowly, thinking long and hard for a moment or two. “I-I don’t know anyone by that name!” He grins excitedly. “That means they’re new! B-but if you like them they must b-be cool!”

“Nah… He’s fucking cringe as shit.” Benrey wrinkles their nose and sticks out their tongue.

Tommy can’t help but giggle softly. “That means you either h-hate his guts or really, really like him!”

“I haaaaate him!!” Benrey says a bit too loudly and a bit too forcefully, making little Tommy break out into laughter and flap his arms.

“When can we- Can I meet him? Please? The whole school has to- has to meet him before he can join us!”

“I dunno man,” Benrey lowers his head and looks away, his normally blank expression hiding notes of sadness. “He wants to meet you cringe af dudes and shit but I don’t… Don’t think… I dunno… Probably shouldn’t, your dad’ll be mad… Doesn’t like me like that… ”

“Don’t be a p-pussy Benrey! You just gotta win him over, then!” Tommy grins again, nuzzling his cheek against Benrey’s arm in a show of support. “And d-don’t worry about my dad, he’s busy over by the trench.”

“Trench? Why’s he over there?” Benrey asks with a flare of their spines. That place wigs them out hella bad. Bad vibes. 

“I don’t know.” Tommy replies after another long moment of thought. His smile doesn’t falter, though! “But I do know he’ll be-be over there for a while! So you won’t get in tr-trouble for showing us an out- an outsider! B-besides… you’re half in charge of us, if y-you think he’s safe… he’s safe!”

“Right.” A few sunny yellow bubbles float out with a soft, relieved sigh. “Tomorrow then? You- meet you at the wreck, yeh?”

“Fuck yeah!” Tommy trills happily as he untangles himself from Benrey’s torso and darts off to go tell the others because this is big, BIG news. To him, at least.

Benrey swims off on their own again and rubs their right arms with their left, a rainbow of muted color slipping past their lips as they slowly work through their worried thoughts.

Fuck, they hope the school and Feetman get along.


End file.
